News Stories - Page 24

The current highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5 outbreak in the United States is a concern for the commercial poultry industry, not the general population, says a University of Georgia poultry expert. Humans won’t be infected with avian influenza by eating chicken or other poultry products. Nearly all previous cases of human infections with other avian influenza viruses involved close, direct contact with infected poultry, but little to no direct transmission from person to person. While the HPAI H5 virus has caused some severe devastation for the U.S. commercial poultry industry, there have been no reports of infections in humans, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) considers the risk to people from this virus to be low.

The growing poultry industry in Georgia has farmers searching for alternative bedding options for their birds. University of Georgia Cooperative Extension poultry scientist Claudia Dunkley recommends that growers use giant miscanthus grass as bedding in their poultry houses.

The University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences will recognize nine of its finest next month with the D.W. Brooks Awards for Excellence and the CAES Faculty and Staff Support Awards.

Avian influenza can’t make humans sick, but it has driven the cost of eggs up and will result in consumers paying more for their holiday turkeys.

From vineyards and vegetable patches to state-of-the-art food processing and food safety operations, agriculture in northeast Georgia is made up of a large and diverse set of enterprises.

University of Georgia Cooperative Extension agronomist Jared Whitaker is researching ultra-late-planted soybeans, a potential solution for low soybean yields and even lower corn prices.